I am so excited to finally share with you an amazing Teacher Graduation Party! The day was filled with family and friends, and I am so thankful for everyone who helped me put the party together.

Outside of the canopy hung a chalkboard banner and one of my graduation pictures that was blown up and made into a welcome sign.
The party was catered by Fat Jack’s BBQ, if you live in Chester County or Delaware County, PA I highly recommend their food.
Inside of the canopy was decorated with banners that I made using my Cricut Imagine machine. I cut out random letters and school shapes, hole punched them and then laced them through twine. Each table had a centerpiece that was made using: mason jars, sand, colored pencils, rulers, and old school pictures. I attached the pictures to rulers and then stuck them in the middle of each jar.
On the deck was the Teacher’s Lounge aka the bar/drink area.
The photo booth was a big hit! My Aunt and Uncle came from New Hampshire to attend my party and made the photo booth for me (so thankful).
The cake was made out of all buttercream frosting, no fondant! I was really impressed with how the cake turned out. The apple on top was a cake too :)

Last May, I finally graduated (I took some time off) college where I majored in Early Elementary and Special Education and by July I was a dually certified teacher teaching summer school! Exciting and super busy. I then landed a job in August for the 2014-2015 school year. School just recently finished here in Pennsylvania because of all our snow days! Here is a tiny glimpse of some exciting things that have happened:

1. My graduation party, be on the lookout for a post coming about that super soon!2. First job teaching special education summer school, I absolutely loved it!3. Took a trip to Las Vegas with one of my best friends, we drove to Death Valley!4. While in Vegas, we also took a tour to the Grand Canyon – absolutely amazing.5. First full time teaching job, my completely empty classroom (that quickly changed)!6. Traveled to Puerto Plata where I golfed for the first time (well, attempted to after practicing at home a tiny bit), zip lined, jumped off waterfalls, and went horseback riding!7. I got to feed a giraffe, pretty exciting!8. Took a day trip to Disney while in Florida over Spring Break!

Shop Update:You will notice that currently in the shop you will only find digital items (instant download items) for sale. Invitations and inserts are still able to be printed (by our professional printer), but stationery is not currently available. I do have plans for relaunching stationery into the shop, so keep your eye out for that soon! In the meantime, stay tuned for some exciting posts that are long overdue!

Father’s Day 2015 is Sunday, June 21st. Here is a super easy DIY Father’s Day gift for any dad! Spruce it up with an 8×10 frame, place it in a gift bag with some tissue paper, and you have a perfect gift for dad this Father’s Day!

usa travel scratch map
Perfect for the graduate who loves to travel. This is a scratch off map of the USA. Every time a new state is visited, take a coin and scratch away! It is a great way to keep track of all the states visited.

one line a day: a five-year memory book
This small five year memory book is perfect for the graduate to keep track of his or her day. The 365 daily entries appear five times on each page, which will allow the graduate to reflect on previous memories over five years.

netflix account
I think this one is pretty self explanatory! Sign up your graduate for a few months of Netflix. If they are a high school graduate and off to college they probably brought a laptop with them. Netflix is perfect for watching movies, shows, and even documentaries!

fujifilm instant film camera
Any graduate would love an instant camera! This slim and lightweight camera is perfect for the graduate to take along with them on their new journey. Maybe they will even send you a few pictures ;)

home plate paperweight
I love this inspirational paperweight! The inspiring words of Babe Ruth, “Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.” are engraved on the paperweight. This would be great for the graduate’s desk.

wishing ball
This wishing ball comes with 52 pieces of tiny paper for the graduate. It encourages the graduate to think each week and record a message of hope or gratitude. Each week once the message is written, the paper is then placed into the wishing ball which becomes a permanent part of the ball. This is a great reflection activity for the graduate that lasts the entire year!

Mother’s Day 2015 is Sunday, May 10th. I don’t know about you, but I love making homemade gifts no matter what the holiday is! There is just something more meaningful about the time that goes into a handmade gift versus a store bought gift. Here is an easy DIY Mother’s Day gift! This has been on the blog the last two years, so you may recognize it ;) I absolutely love this, it is so much fun to see how the reasons change over the years! A fun keepsake idea is to scrapbook the previous years.

Teacher Appreciation Week this year is May 4th through the 8th. National Teacher Appreciation Day is Tuesday, May 5th. Teacher Appreciation Week is always the first full week of May and National Teacher Appreciation Day is the Tuesday that falls during Teacher Appreciation week. If you are looking for teacher appreciation gift ideas you are in luck. I have searched around for top teacher teacher appreciation gifts, and below you will find some of the best gifts for your child’s teacher. Oh, and at the end you will find a free printable :)

1. Heartfelt Thank You Card

Of course, the best gift is a thank you card from the heart! Sit down with your child and reflect on the year so far and help them (or you write it based on your child’s age) write a thank you card for their teacher, I guarantee he or she will very much appreciate it.
2. Gift Card Bouquet via The Cul-De-Sac

This idea comes from The Cul-De-Sac blog. This mom was able to collect money from other parents and created a generous class flower pot filled with gift cards. What teacher wouldn’t love this? If you are not able to collect money and partner up with other parents, you could purchase the gift cards for smaller amounts or instead of gift cards tape scratch off tickets to the sticks!

3. Personalized Tumbler

Tumblers can be found all over the place theses days, but this shop has personalized tumblers! You can also do a Google search for ‘personalized tumblers’ and find a ton of other ones. However, I like the personalized tumblers above because the patterns are all so unique and they are super durable as well!

I love this tote bag from Delightfully Noted! Teachers are always carrying things to and from school, so a cute personalized tote bag is perfect and will maybe make carrying the heavy things not so bad (haha). Head on over to her blog because she currently has a free adorable printable to attach to the tote!

Find a meaningful message that you think your child’s teacher would love, print it out and frame it! If you have the frame matted (AC Moore and Michael’s typically have framing coupons in their weekly flyers so be on the lookout), you could have your child (or the entire class) sign around the print! This print is currently available as a free download over at Eighteen 25.

6. Books for the Classroom Library

Teachers can always use new books for their classroom library! Buy your child’s favorite book and have him or her sign their name in the cover as a special memory for their teacher. Even if the teacher gets a duplicate book, no worries! Duplicate books are great for activities.

Summer is almost here! Put together a cute beach bag filled with things for the beach for your teacher. Save your teacher a trip this summer, and fill up a bag with some goodies! Head on over to Skip to my Lou, because there is currently a corresponding free printable tag for the beach tote!

8. Spa Gift Certificate

Teachers are on their feet all day! Treat your teacher to an hour or two at the spa. You could either get a gift certificate to a local spa, or if you are not sure where he or she lives get a gift certificate to Spa Finder, they have over 20,000 locations!

Put together a kit that includes everything needed for the perfect manicure and place in a mason jar, put a bow and tag on it, and another perfect teacher appreciation gift! Be sure to visit Tidbits & Twine because Kim has a tutorial for the above kit; this mason jar can actually be used as a lantern, how cool? Two gifts in one!

Do you have a friend or a significant other that is a teacher? Here is something I made for a friend! Pick up his or her favorite beer or wine and attach this adorable tag with some twine! This tag could even be used for a teacher who loves soda. Grab a plastic bin (The Dollar Tree is my favorite place to find fun plastic bins for miscellaneous things) and fill it up with a 12 pack of his or her favorite soda! Stuff some tissue in between the cans and then add the tag!

Instructions:
1. Download and print the Bottled up Tag
2. Cut along the circle border
3. Tape the tag on the gift (you could even use a fun piece of Washi Tape :) OR
3. After #2, take a hole punch and punch a hole at the center of the top of the tag
4. Cut a piece of twine, and lace it through the tag to tie on your gift

Click here for even more Teacher Appreciation gift ideas and printables on the blog. Do you have any teacher gift ideas? If so, I would love to know!

I cannot believe that Made by Cristina Marie is celebrating its second birthday! Things have been very busy around here, stay tuned for an update! I am so excited to announce the birthday sale that will run today until midnight tonight. Take 20% off your entire purchase with the code TWOYEARS at checkout.

I am so excited to be a part of the Great Grand Glittery Giveaway hosted by the one and only Purple Pug! I have to admit this glittery giveaway is pretty special! Kristy, the owner of The Purple Pug, has gathered up 72 amazing businesses for this giveaway and there is a lot of magic in this giveaway (like usual with her giveaways :). We are helping her celebrate 14,444 Facebook fans, so there are many ‘4s’ all throughout this giveaway!

Rules:
Contest is open from June 23, 2014 at 12:00am EST to July 4, 2014 at 12:00am EST. The winners will be chosen randomly through the Rafflecopter form. The odds of winning depend on the number of people who enter. Giveaway is open worldwide to all participants 18 years of age and older. Void where prohibited by law. Winners are solely responsible for any taxes, duties or reporting as required by law. The winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize. Should they not claim their prize within this time, another winner will be selected. Please ensure that the email thepurplepug [at] thepurplepug [dot] com is on your “safe list” as we would hate for you not to get your prize!

Use the Rafflecopter form to enter to win! Good luck :)

+++ there’s a special twist to this glittery giveaway, read about it here

Disclosure: This is an independent blogger giveaway. It is in no way associated with PayPal, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram or any other social media network. I did not receive money to be part of or promote this giveaway. Should you have any questions, please contact Kristy at The Purple Pug via email at thepurplepug[at] thepurplepug [dot] com.

This year Father’s Day is Sunday, June 15th. I have updated the year on the popular 10 Reasons Why I Love My Dad printable from last year. This printable makes the perfect gift for any dad! Simply download the file, print it out on the paper of your choice, cut along the border, have your child(ren) fill it out, and then place it in a frame! Click below to download the file:

Are you throwing a penguin party? Here are some penguin party food ideas that are pretty creative (check out the penguin meatballs)! Of course each of these fun food ideas have tutorials, so if you would like to learn how to make one, or all of these penguin treats click below.

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